Posted on 01/17/2009 11:06:30 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Eleven weeks after one of the most engaging Presidential elections in American history --and just days before the inauguration of the winner, Barack Obama --passions are running high about his presidency.
In a nonscientific survey on UnionLeader.com last week, four in 10 respondents agreed with the statement that the historical significance of this inauguration "has been greatly exaggerated." About the same percentage said they believe Obama "is in over his head and the country is headed for disaster."
On the other hand, 10 percent of the 419 respondents believe Obama will be "one of America"s greatest presidents," and another 18 percent are "optimistic that he will ably handle the many challenges that face him."
Twenty-nine percent said this is one of the most historic inaugurations in U.S. history; the same percentage said this one is slightly more historic than most.
Last week, several new national polls found most Americans have high hopes for an Obama presidency. An Associated Press poll found 7 in 10 Americans expect the economy will improve in the first year of his administration. A Newsweek poll found 66 percent of adults are optimistic that Obama can improve the direction of the country, including 36 percent of Republicans.
Passionate opinions
Obama supporters and detractors alike were passionate in their comments on the UnionLeader.com survey.
"It's always darkest before the dawn, as we are on the verge of an historic transition from the abyss of inveterate incompetence Americans have been subject to under the current administration into the fervent luminous hope evoked by the forward-looking (and long overdue) inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States," wrote Craig Harris of Derry.
But Eric Kezer of Manchester said Obama is in over his head: "There are no concrete answers to the questions asked. It's all touchy feely stuff. I wish him well, but I just don't see him being successful."
Rich Yeaton of Derry fears Obama's presidency will mirror that of Lyndon B. Johnson's. "We can't afford another failure like the Great Society," he wrote.
Obama's personal story "unites almost every aspect of American life," wrote Mike Allard of Goffstown. "I say, hooray for America, hooray for the world and good luck Mr. President."
But Bob Hill of Concord said, "I have wondered since the election if Martin Luther King would be proud of this event or saddened to know that people still look at the color of a man's skin and make decisions based upon what they see. I think he might be more proud to say that Barack Obama lost the election because people looked at his positions and disagreed rather than America voting to make history."
Out-of-state views
The online survey results seem to have been a bit skewed by the number of out-of-staters taking it --56, or more than 13 percent of respondents.
Fifty-two percent of nonresidents said Obama is in over his head, while only 37 percent of Granite Staters who took the survey said so. Only 7 percent of out-of-staters said they believe Obama will be one of the country's greatest presidents; 11 percent of residents said so.
And 31 percent of Granite Staters said this is one of the most historic inaugurations in U.S. history, compared with just 18 percent of nonresidents.
The survey also attracted a lower percentage of Obama supporters than he won in the election. Obama received 54 percent of the vote here; Republican John McCain got 45 percent.
But 65 percent of survey respondents said they did not vote for Obama; only 29 percent did. New Hampshire respondents were more likely to have voted for him than out-of-staters.
Top priorities
The survey also asked about the top priority for the new president to address. Not surprisingly, the economy trumped all other issues, the choice of 57 percent. Domestic security against terrorism came in second, at 15 percent, and taxes were third at 7 percent, followed by immigration, health care, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, education, the environment and America's image abroad.
Granite Staters were more likely to choose the economy, the wars, taxes and health care as priorities than out-of-staters, and less likely to choose terrorism, energy and immigration.
Asked what approach would most effectively address the current economic crisis, three in 10 respondents called for cutting personal taxes. Creating jobs through government spending was the second-most-popular choice, at 17 percent, with 13 percent of respondents wanting leaders to reduce the federal deficit, and 11 percent looking for help for small businesses.
Brian Gagnon of Concord wrote that he voted for John McCain in November. "However, I still wish nothing but the best for our new President," he went on. "If in January 2013, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we are better off than we are today, I will be the first to congratulate Mr. Obama on a job well done."
Meanwhile, Michael Totri of Raymond said Americans are putting too much faith in the ability of the President to solve problems. "People have forgotten that change is attained from the bottom up and not the top down," he wrote.
I think the guy will be a historic black Jimmy Carter...In 5 years he will be swinging a hammer in Harlem
Also he will vote “present”
The big question is...should the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to him this year (2009), or should they wait until the end? Or should they give him a Peace Prize each and every year?
Its a billion dollar hype job.
So 40% are not that enamored or HOPEful - that's pretty high, considering he hasn't even been coronated - ah - taken office yet. The honeymoon is over before he gets to the bridal chamber?
Mike Allard of Goffstown is a blithering idiot.
"Unites" is not a substitute for "represents" or "amalgamates" but Mike is a product of public education so his thesaurus is quite limited.
As for Obama "uniting" American life, I have met thousands of people and none of them are the son of a Kenyan who happened to luck out by being born in Hawaii.
Said it before...will say it again....Obama is the ultimate in tokenism.
LOL
Looks to me like people who voted for the chosen one are refusing to admit it now. This could bode well for the Republicans 2010.
The Dalai Bama is the most overhyped, underqualified, inept, unprepared and dangerous man ever elected to the office of President...
Even an adoring media will be unable to mask the disasters related to the ineptness and pure stupidity and arrogance of the DNC and their President.....
The media and DNC spinner will see the $hi+ in their Easter Baskets and pretend it’s chocolate..... It will be our jobs to force them to eat it to prove it......
I think he is constitutionally ineligible for the office he was elected to hold and will be Jailed within two years.
I have a dream.........
I think that even if Obama were what his fans WISH he was, the hype is going to slaughter him. He and the media so overhyped him, and played up his candidacy as if by voting for him YOU would be part of history, that the train is speeding down the tracks and the brakes are shot.
Obama and his people actually made an effort to tamp down expectations, but that's actually stopped, if you look carefully. Now they're doing something else, namely, trying to cut down on the Bush-bashing--he said Bush was a "good guy," he adopted Bush's Iraq and economic policies, etc.
If they can't stop the overhype, they have to close the gap between reality and expectation. The only other way to do that is convince people Bush wasn't THAT wrong about Iraq, the bailout, etc.
All of this is about campaigning, NOT about the debate of ideas, governance, or anything resembling steady leadership. It's the Gen X belief in Blackberrys and polling and managing media--deal with perception, forget about reality.
It will be an education for all of us, and in the end will wake some people up, if they are able to be awakened at all.
I think the CBS poll earlier today was full of crud and this one is more accurate.
Love your tag line.
That's what I think.
He wants to be like Abraham Lincoln, but Lincoln started the American Civil War!
BHO cabinet meeting: “I hope you guys know what you’re doing cause I sure as h*ll don’t know.”
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